LIVE: Watch Online Vigil in Defense of Julian Assange

Join Joe Lauria, editor-in-chief of Consortium News, on Saturday as he moderates a daylong chain of interviews in defense of WikiLeaks and its publisher Julian Assange beginning at 10 am EDT, 2 pm GMT. From 10 a.m EDT to 10…

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The Unlikely Force Behind US Prison Reform

While serious prison reform in the United States has long failed there is a new force to be reckoned with from an unlikely source that should be taken seriously, says John Kiriakou. By John Kiriakou Special to Consortium News Prison…

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The Trump Administration’s Spoiler Foreign Policy

U.S. strategy abroad has assumed a dangerous shape in recent weeks. Whether the president or his minders are running affairs, Patrick Lawrence sees an ardent desire to develop a true “post-Cold War order.” By Patrick Lawrence Special to Consortium News…

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VIPS Tells Media Support for Brennan is Not Unanimous

In this memo, VIPS tells the news media that the revocation of John Brennan’s security clearance is falsely being portrayed as an assault on the freedom of speech of the deeply flawed, former CIA director.  August 29, 2018 TO: The…

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Back in the (Great) Game: The Revenge of Eurasian Land Powers

Whatever is left roaming our wilderness of mirrors depends on the irascible mood swings of the Goddess of the Market. No wonder a side effect of Eurasia integration will be a death blow to Bretton Woods and “democratic” neoliberalism., says Pepe…

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How the Department of Homeland Security Created a Deceptive Tale of Russia Hacking US Voter Sites

The narrative about Russian cyberattacks on American election infrastructure is a self-interested abuse of power by DHS based on distortion of evidence, writes Gareth Porter. By Gareth Porter Special to Consortium News The narrative of Russian intelligence attacking state and…

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The Sun Does Not Revolve Around the US

While visiting Galileo’s house in Florence, Jean Ranc reflected on how America thinks the world revolves around it, as it was once falsely thought the sun revolves around the earth. By Jean Ranc Special to Consortium News On a sunny…

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The Real Russian Interference in US Politics

If Russia were trying to interfere in U.S. domestic politics, it wouldn’t be attempting to change the U.S. system but to prevent it from trying to change Russia’s, argues Diana Johnstone. By Diana Johnstone The Cold War between the United…

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The Other Side of John McCain

If the paeans to McCain by diverse political climbers seems detached from reality, it’s because they reflect the elite view of U.S. military interventions as a chess game, with the millions killed by unprovoked aggression mere statistics, says Max Blumenthal.…

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INTRODUCING: Consortium News on Flash Points, Our Second Radio Show

This month Consortium News launched Consortium News Radio. Today we begin a second radio show in collaboration with Pacifica Radio’s Flash Points, a biweekly interview program with Consortium News writers. In collaboration with Dennis Bernstein, host of Pacifica Radio’s syndicated…

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Corbyn’s Labour is Being Made to Fail – by Design

Besieged for four years with charges of anti-semitism, Jeremy Corbyn’s allies in the Labour leadership have largely lost the stomach for battle, one that was never about substance or policy but about character assassination, says Jonathan Cook. By Jonathan Cook…

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Being Pro-Palestinian Doesn’t Make Jeremy Corbyn an Anti-Semite

The Israelis’ war on the leader of the Labour Party is really a war on free speech that’s meant to silence critics of Israel in the UK and elsewhere, argues As’ad AbuKhalil. By As’ad AbuKhalil Special to Consortium News In…

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The Limits of Elizabeth Warren

Senator Elizabeth Warren was pushed to her limit at the National Press Club, entrapped by a system she says she wants to debate, but clearly can’t, as Sam Husseini explains. By Sam Husseini Special to Consortium News Senator Elizabeth Warren…

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Fifteen Years of Forever Wars

Fifteen year ago Donald Rumsfeld said Afghanistan was pacified and George W. Bush said the U.S. mission in Iraq was “accomplished.” Fifteen years later the disastrous neconservative assumptions are in full view, says Chas Freeman. By Chas Freeman Fifteen years…

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Religious Divisions Threaten to Further Inflame Ukrainian Civil War

Not admitting the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to Kiev is like barring the Pope from Rome, but that is just what the U.S.-backed Ukrainian government has done, explains Dmitry Babich. By Dmitry Babich Special to Consortium News During…

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A Retrospective on Kofi Annan, Dead at 80

Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan died on Saturday. The following is a look back on his tumultuous ten years in office by Consortium News Editor-in-Chief Joe Lauria, writing for The Boston Globe on Dec. 29, 2006.  By Joe Lauria, for The…

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Have British Spies Been Hacking the EU?

The European Union has accused British intelligence agencies of disrupting Brexit negotiations—creating a new public dispute that could poison further an already toxic situation, says Annie Machon.  By Annie Machon in Brussels Special to Consortium News Just after midnight on…

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How To Beat A Manipulator

In our political and personal lives many of us have been conned. Here’s how to recognize how politicians and people manipulate us and how to stop them, according to Caitlin Johnstone. By Caitlin Johnstone Humans are hackable. Ask any conman.…

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For Italy, Trump Represents a ‘Populist’ Opportunity

The new Italian government is taking comfort in some of Trump’s positions, especially on migration, trade and Russia, says Andrew Spannaus. By Andrew Spannaus in Milan Special to Consortium News During the 2016 United States election campaign, most of Italy’s…

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Trump-Media Logrolling

Hundreds of mainstream newspapers on Thursday have coordinated editorials against Trump’s attacks on the press, but as Sam Husseini explains, the major media need to do some soul-searching itself.  By Sam Husseini Today, hundreds of newspapers, at the initiative of The Boston…

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Trump Strikes Back at ‘Ringleader’ Brennan

At war with current and former intelligence officials since before he was elected, Donald Trump Wednesday moved to strip Barack Obama’s CIA chief of his security clearance, though worse may be in store for John Brennan, says Ray McGovern. By…

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‘Journey for Justice’ Caravan Launches Cross Country Trek

The Trump administration is dismantling temporary Protected Status to protect people from deportations to countries destabilized by war, civil conflict, or natural catastrophe. One group is fighting back. By Dennis J Bernstein The Trump Administration, with Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard…

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Consortium News Radio— Episode 2: Joe Meadors

A USS Liberty survivor who was arrested by Israel this month trying to break the Gaza blockade joins Episode 2 of Consortium News Radio.   Joe Meadors was a signalman on the USS Liberty surveillance ship on June 8, 1967 when…

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‘Too Big to Fail’: Russia-gate One Year After VIPS Showed a Leak, Not a Hack

One year later, the VIPS memo contending that the DNC emails were leaked and not hacked has yet to be successfully challenged. Meanwhile, the country sinks deeper into the morass of the new McCarthyism. By Patrick Lawrence Special to Consortium…

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Senator Richard Burr: a Longtime Fan of Torture

Newly released declassified documents prove once and for all that CIA Director Gina Haspel oversaw torture in Thailand, which the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee knew all along, as Ray McGovern explains. By Ray McGovern Special to Consortium News…

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Election Results Could be Good for Pakistan, Bad for US

The election of Imran Khan as Pakistan’s new president further underscores America’s futile military strategy in the region, argues Graham Fuller. By Graham Fuller A bold new political face has come to power in the recent Pakistani elections, possibly offering…

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In A Corporatist System Of Government, Corporate Censorship Is State Censorship

In a corporatist system of government, wherein there is no meaningful separation between corporate power and state power, corporate censorship is state censorship, argues Caitlin Johnstone in this commentary. By Caitlin Johnstone Last year, representatives of Facebook, Twitter, and Google were instructed…

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The Faulty Logic Behind the Attack on BDS

Defenders of Israel are using flawed logic in trying to tar supporters of the age-old tactic of boycotts as anti-semitic, argues Lawrence Davidson. By Lawrence Davidson If you search the topic boycotts on Google you immediately realize how historically common…

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Consortium News Radio— Episode 1: Peter Van Buren

INTRODUCING Consortium News Radio, an ongoing series of radio interviews with newsmakers and Consortium News writers intended to delve deeper into stories published on Consortium News. On the premiere edition of Consortium News Radio we speak with Peter Van Buren,…

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Flotilla Passengers Released by Israel; Many Battered and Bruised; USS Liberty Survivor Held Six Days

Defending their illegal blockade of Gaza against what they see as infiltrators rather than activists bringing aid and making a point, Israeli soldiers physically assaulted a number of delegates and arrested them, including a USS Liberty survivor.  By Ann Wright…

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Giving Trump Carte Blanche for War

A little-noticed Senate bill would give Donald Trump blanket permission to launch wars in violation of the Constitution, says John Kiriakou. By John Kiriakou Special to Consortium News Have you ever heard of Senate Joint Resolution 59 (S.J.Res. 59)? Neither…

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VIPS Asks Twitter to Restore Van Buren’s Account

The Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity in a memo to the Twitter board of directors questions its decision to suspend the account of one of its members without due process. August 8, 2018 TO: Twitter Board of Directors FROM: Veteran…

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Pilger Excoriates Media on Assange Silence

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and investigative reporter John Pilger takes the gloves off on the continuing attempts to upend WikiLeaks and arrest its founding publisher, Julian Assange, in this interview with Dennis Bernstein and Randy Credico. Pilger talks about Assange’s deteriorating…

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VIPS Pleas for Humanitarian Asylum for Julian Assange

Memorandum for: The US Embassies of Ecuador and the United Kingdom, and the U.S. State Department From: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity Subject: Humanitarian Asylum for Julian Assange For six years, WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange has been effectively imprisoned without…

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Winning an Arms Race in Space Remains a Futile Fight

Donald Trump is not the first U.S. president to want to militarize life beyond Earth. But that approach is bankrupt, believes Jonathan Marshall. By Jonathan Marshall Special to Consortium News When Donald Trump declared it was time to Make America…

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Journalists Are All Julian Assange

As Ecuador threatens to hand Julian Assange over to eventual U.S. custody, Consortium Editor Joe Lauria will take part in a 50-hour online vigil for Assange Saturday at 8pm EDT. In 2010, Bob Parry, late founder and editor of Consortium,…

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The Mystery Fixer Who Has Negotiated the End of the Syrian War

A nearly unknown businessman named Khaled al Ahmad became Damascus’ secret liaison to the West and has quietly dealt Syria’s grinding war to a close, reports Rhania Khalek By Rania Khalek Gray Zone Project After seven years of grinding war,…

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Hidden in Plain View in Belgrade

Why did NATO attack Yugoslavia in 1999, killing perhaps as many as 2,500 civilians? Here is a possible answer as Vladimir Golstein reflects back on that ugly episode. By Vladimir Golstein in Belgrade Special to Consortium News Right across the…

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